Snow & Traction Policy, Winter Tips

City of Airway Heights Snow & Traction Control Policy

This standard establishes a procedure for the removal of snow and ice off public streets. It was promulgated to:

A. Provide safe, navigable streets for the public.

B. Reduce the frequency of accidents during inclement weather.

C. Establish a procedure for the removal of snow and application of traction sand.

It shall be the policy of the City of Airway Heights to implement cost effective procedures for the purpose of accommodating the transportation needs of motorists during periods of snow and/or ice accumulation on the city's streets and in certain public parking lots. This shall be accomplished through the application of traction control materials to address potentially or presently slick driving conditions and through snow plowing once one inch or more has accumulated on the roadway, or has potential accumulate.

II. General

The basis for determining the appropriate course of operation to be followed with respect to traction control and snow plowing shall be predicated on the following conditions:

III. Procedure

A. One to Four Inches of Snow: Plowing and traction control materials will be applied at intersections and all arterial's when surface conditions warrant doing so in order to reasonably enable vehicles to travel the city's streets. Traction control materials will not be applied during snowfall conditions that prevent the materials from working effectively.

B. Four to Six Inches of Snow: Snow plowing equipment will generally be dispatched to local access streets after an accumulation of four to six inches; however, the Director of Public Works or the Director's designee shall, at their discretion, dispatch snow plowing equipment as warranted by the snowfall conditions. Reasonable attempts will be made to keep driveways clear of plowed snow. Traction control materials will be applied to intersections after the streets have been plowed, and periodically thereafter if slick conditions warrant additional applications.

C. Six or More Inches of Snow: Snow accumulations of six inches or more will be considered an emergency. Therefore, snow plowing equipment will be primarily focused on clearing the city's streets as expediently as the conditions allow. Attempting to keep driveways clear of plowed snow may not be practicable. Traction control materials will be applied after snow plowing and periodically thereafter if slick conditions warrant additional applications.

IV. Snow and Traction Control Routes

Generally speaking the snow plowing and traction control routes listed in order of priority are as follows:

A. Snow Plowing Routes:

1. Arterial streets that provide access to major destination points such as schools and businesses and governmental buildings including the Department of Corrections.

2. Arterial streets that provide access from the residential neighborhoods.

3. Local (Residential) Streets.

B. Traction Control Routes:

1. Major arterial street intersections.

2. Secondary arterial street intersections.

3. Residential street intersections.

V. Snow Plowing and Traction Control Equipment

A. Snow Plowing Equipment

1. Three (3) Snow Plows

2. One (1) Front End Loader

3. One (1) Backhoe

4. Snow Master

5. Grader

B. Traction Control Equipment

1. Two (2) Sander Trucks

2. One (1) Liquid Deicer Truck

VI. Management of Snow and Traction Control Operations

A. Public Works Responsibility: The Department of Public Works or designee shall be responsible for assigning personnel, equipment and material as deemed necessary by the Director of Public Works or the Director's designee for the purpose of performing the snow and ice removal.

B. Cooperation with Police and Fire: The Department of Public Works welcomes input from both the Police and Fire Departments with respect to the manner in which this policy is implemented and maintained. Additionally, if the officer or the firefighter who is in charge during a shift occurring before or after regularly scheduled business hours, which for the purpose of this policy will be Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, determines the traction control and/or snow plowing operations must be undertaken immediately in order to mitigate a hazardous situation on the roadway, then said officer of firefighter shall have the authority to directly contact the Public Works personnel designated for the purpose of traction control and/or snow removal.

Helpful Tips For Winter

The City of Airway Heights is dedicated to ensuring that our citizens, emergency responders, school buses and public transportation are able to move safely throughout our community. To accomplish this we will need your help! It is our goal to have all bus routes open and public facilities accessible by 7:00 AM and to have all the City streets cleared by 12:00 PM, so to help us make this happen for you, we offer the following tips:

Please remove everything from the roadway to clear it for the snow plows to come through (cars, basketball hoops, garbage cans etc.)

Don’t build snow forts or play in the snow berms in the street! If the plow comes through, they may not be able to see you/your children inside.

It is your responsibility to ensure that the full width of the sidewalk along the entire length of the abutting property shall be kept clear of snow, ice, dirt, debris, leaf accumulations and any other obstacles or obstructions that would hinder or interfere with safe and easy pedestrian use.